Pro Bono Service: Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program

Pro Bono Service: Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program Professionalism for New Admittees CLE October 2, 2015 Jaclyn Kiger, JD, MSW Managing Attorney Pisgah Legal Services

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. - D R. M A RT I N L U T H E R K I N G, J R.

Today s Agenda Overview of Pisgah Legal Services History of Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program (MAVL) Pro Bono Service, NC State Bar Rule 6.1 PLS Role Questions?

PLS Mission Statement To pursue justice by providing legal assistance and advocacy to help low-income people in Western North Carolina meet their basic needs and improve their lives.

History of Pisgah Legal Services Founded in 1978 by the Buncombe County Bar Association Legal Services Corporation funding ended in 1998 Completed capital campaign in 2009 to secure desperately needed larger office space at 62A Charlotte Street & double people we serve by 2020

Every day we receive over 100 calls from people living in poverty and asking for help: escaping domestic violence; denied access to health care; being evicted from their home or homeless and in need of housing; Facing illegal consumer debt collection actions; in need of food, utilities, subsistence income & other essentials. Our programs provide civil legal aid services, ensuring fairness and justice for basic needs.

Poverty Law Issues Addressed

What Difference Do We Make? In 2014, we helped 14,000+ low-income people to meet basic needs food, shelter, safety, health care, income through civil legal advocacy Pisgah Legal Services is only able to improve the lives of more than 14,000 low-income people annually because of the generous pro bono contributions of volunteer lawyers through the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyers Program

History of the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program (MAVL) PRO BONO TEAMWORK: A TRADITION OF THE BUNCOMBE COUNTY BAR LOCAL IMPACT of the 28 th Judicial District Bar The obligation to provide pro bono service to the poor has been a responsibility and distinction of the legal profession since its beginnings. While attorneys historically provided pro bono service individually, in modern times the challenge of meeting our community s need for pro bono service in an increasingly complex society has spurred the growth of organized efforts by attorneys from the national to local level to meet that challenge. For over 35 years, the Buncombe County Bar has been committed to working together to meet the pro bono service needs of our community. During that time, pro bono service has evolved from an ad hoc group of volunteer attorneys into a unique pro bono partnership, which in 2014 enabled PLS and local attorneys participating in the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyers Program to assist over 7500 Buncombe County lowincome residents with legal problems effecting their basic needs.

MAVL History Highlights 1967: The Legal Aid Society of Buncombe County is formed. 1970-77: The Legal Aid Committee is administered successively by attorneys Karl Straus, Barry Kempson and William Wolcott, III. 1977: The Buncombe County Bar Association is awarded $122,040 by the Legal Services Corp. to use staff attorneys and members of the private bar to provide legal aid to the poor. 1978: On January 18, 1978, the Legal Aid Service of the Buncombe County Bar Association receives its first client. 1979: Approximately 400 cases are opened by the Legal Aid Service with 172 referred to the private bar. 1980: The Legal Aid Service applies for funding to expand services into Henderson, Madison, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania counties. 1981: The Legal Aid Service changes its name to Pisgah Legal Services. 1983: The Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program begins and is administered by PLS to screen low-income clients and coordinate volunteer services of local attorneys.

Legacy of Local Attorneys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnozgntbssg

Local Attorneys Make a Difference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjgos4dmva0

Local Impact In 2014, the MAVL Program coordinated more than 300 volunteer attorneys who donated 3,725 professional hours helping PLS clients. These services are modestly valued at $745,068.

Pro Bono Service "We are bound by a responsibility to use our unique skills and training - not just to advance cases, but to serve a cause; and to help our nation fulfill its founding promise of equal justice under law...the obligation of pro bono service must become a part of the DNA of both the legal profession and of every lawyer." Eric Holder

Rule 6.1: Voluntary Pro Bono Public Service Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono public legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should: (a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to: (1) persons of limited means; (2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or (3) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate (b) provide any additional services through: (1) the delivery of legal services described in paragraph (a) at a substantially reduced fee; or (2) participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.

Why Pro Bono? As a new attorney or attorney new to our area, pro bono work can give you practical experience and you can gain a broad spectrum of career experience and networking opportunities. There are a great many people in our community in need of legal help but who cannot afford an attorney. Pro Bono attorneys save lives.

PLS Role PLS and the MAVL Program are part of a rich tradition of our local bar. For new attorneys, we provide training and information. Videos are available of past CLEs on poverty law. Opportunities to work directly with our staff attorneys to learn new areas of practice or assist with cases in current practice areas. CLE opportunities Screen and identify potential pro bono clients and opportunities. Self-Reporting Form available on the PLS website at: https://www.pisgahlegal.org/volunteer/mavl-self-reporting-form/

Hotline LIFE Line Direct Case Referrals Clinics PLS MAVL Programs

Hotline Telephone Consultation Program Cases suitable for legal advice only are routed to volunteer lawyers who are trained in poverty law and provide legal advice about consumer issues to very low income clients. Pisgah Legal Services screens the clients for income eligibility and have a staff attorney available to support volunteer attorneys.

LIFE Line Telephone Consultation Program Through the LIFE (Legal Issue Family Empowerment) Line program, volunteer family law attorneys advise low-income people in crisis. For the low-income client, LIFE Line provides him/her with knowledge of areas of family law and gives him/her access to the legal system that would not have been possible otherwise.

Direct Case Referrals Volunteer attorneys accept case referrals on a pro bono basis to help clients escape domestic violence, avoid homelessness, and access essential benefits. Cases referred through the MAVL program include a wide variety of legal issues.

MAVL Clinics Debt Clinic Debt 101 is a two-hour workshop providing general information in a group setting and is open to the public. The clinic offers: how to prioritize debt; what happens after defaulting on a debt; what it means to be judgment proof; how to claim exemptions; what rights debtors have; how bankruptcy works; and when bankruptcy is appropriate. Expungment Clinic Expungment Clinics are held monthly and clients come into PLS for oneon-one meetings with an attorney. Attorneys prepare expungments to further the client s ability to obtain housing, education, or employment. Clients are responsible for filing the form.

MAVL Clinics Tax Clinic Volunteer tax attorneys prevent tax levies and liens, minimize clients tax liabilities, and educate clients about their federal and state tax rights and responsibilities. On a monthly basis, MAVL participants host a tax specific hotline, providing tax advice and recommending certain clients for further representation. Guardianship Clinic The guardianship clinic assists clients seeking uncontested guardianships for adults. Once a month, volunteer attorneys provide guardianship advice and recommend certain clients for further representation.

A MAVL Program Client Story

Questions?